The Tasmarctya Desert
'The Tasmarctya Desert' The Tasmarctya Desert (Old Elven: untranslatable) is Erthoria s’ largest known hot desert. At over 4,700,000 square kilometres (1,800,000 sq mi), it covers the centre of Gras-Loond . The Tasmarctya Desert stretches from the Caran Forest of the Wood Elves and the Black-Steel Mountains of the Dwarfs to the Zeelarcene Jungles. Some of the sand dunes can reach 180 metres (590 ft) in height. The name comes from ancient elven and had no known modern translation. 'Overview' The Tasmarctya Desert's boundaries are the Caran Forest on the west, Black-Steel Mountains in the northwest, the Dhryn (Gnoll region) and the valley of the Iteru River on the East. The Tasmarctya Desert is divided into Eastern Tasmarctya, the central Aggaha Mountains, the Isebi Mountains, the Ri Mountains (a region of Desert Mountains and high plateaus), Renet desert and the Nybila desert (the most arid region). The highest peak in the Tasmarctya Desert is Isuokie (3,415 m/11,204 ft) in the Isebi Mountains in northern Dalch. The Tasmarctya Desert is the largest desert on the Gras-Loond continent. The southern border of the Tasmarctya Desert is marked by a band of semiarid savanna called the Leha; south of the Leha lies Southern Dhryn and the Ogoc River Basin. Most of the Tasmarctya Desert consists of largely barren, hard, rocky plateaus, with very little sand; large sanddunes form only a minor part. Except in the Iln Vale, there are few oases. In the northern highlands, some plants such as the olive tree are found to grow. Dominant ethnicities in the Tasmarctya Desert are various Gnoll, Blood Orc and goblin tribes, the Desert Elves, Wild Elves and the Tonuians, Zakari, Hasohai, Pefulni and Kahaso tribesmen (human desert folk). Important cities located in the Tasmarctya Desert include Tchotauon, the capital of Argela; Tasmarnatyss, Algra, Raheb, Droamiah, Adrahg, and Duole in Antiram; Ukutmit in Ilam; Zedag in Nirenin; Tahg in Nybila; and Ugrayaf in Dalch. 'Geography' The Tasmarctya Desert covers the kingdoms of Argela, Dalch, Pyget, Nybila, Ilam, Antiram, Corom, Nirenin, Western Tasmarctya, Dhryn and Sinut. The desert landforms of the Tasmarctya Desert are shaped by wind or by occasional rains and include sand dunes and dune fields or sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, and salt flats. Unusual landforms include the Eye of Tchacri in Antiram. Several deeply dissected mountains and mountain ranges, many volcanic, rise from the desert, including the Ri Mountains, Aggaha, Tasmarctyan Altar, Isebi Mountains, and the Sarose darda Zakari. The highest peak in The Tasmarctya Desert is Isuokie, a shield volcano in the Isebi range of northern Dalch. Most of the rivers and streams in The Tasmarctya Desert are seasonal or intermittent, the chief exception being the Iln River which crosses the desert from its origins in central Gras-Loond to empty into the Shalorthean Sea . Underground aquifers sometimes reach the surface, forming oases, including the Ayira, Adrahg, Noumi, Arfu, and Awis. The central part of The Tasmarctya Desert is hyper-arid, with little vegetation. The northern and southern reaches of the desert, along with the highlands, have areas of sparse grassland and desert shrub, with trees and taller shrubs in old river beds where moisture collects. 'Politics' The Kingdom of Tasmarctya colloquially refers to the entire area of the Tasmarctya Desert. It is however, officially comprised of the Desert Elf Kingdom Argela and the five human nations of Antiram, Ilam, Nirenin, Corom, and Sinut. Western Tasmarctya is home to the wild elves; Pyget, Nybila and Dalch are the lands of the Blood orcs and goblins with Dhryn the home of the Gnoll. Here the “official” borders end, as all the races are of nomadic disposition; they can be found travelling in almost any part of the Tasmarctya desert. Category:Gras-Loond